Needle-filled bottles endanger recycling center workers

LINCOLN-Madison County Department of Solid Waste urges recyclers to not mix their used syringes in with the rest of their recyclables, because syringes are not recyclable.

Although legal disposal protocol says that thick plastic containers such as detergent bottles and some juice bottles are OK to use when properly labeled, these bottles can be easily mistaken for regular recyclables and mixed in with other items on the floor in the recycling center.

"When those bottles come up the line they can easily be run over by a skid steer or stepped on," said Plant Foreman Joel Lockwood who has been with the department of solid waste for 20 years. "When the containers break open the needles have to be cleaned up by hand and it would be easy to get poked and pricked."

According to the CDC, exposure to blood from used hypodermic needles or other medical waste sharps can cause contraction of a host of blood-born pathogens. Some of the most dangerous include hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV.

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The county is urging anyone who needs to recycle medical sharp waste to obtain proper biohazard disposal containers which can be picked up at any pharmacy in Madison County free of charge.

All sharps, regardless of container, should be placed in a bag separate from recyclables wether you are leaving them on the curb for pick-up or taking them to your local transfer station. Sharps waste can also be disposed of directly by taking it to your local hospital.

All sharps waste taken to the Madison County facility is taken to Oneida Healthcare Center and sent out with their medical waste for disposal.